The run-up to League Two, for Scunthorpe United, has officially begun. After last season’s disappointing relegation, the boys from Glanford Park have every intention of enjoying a star-studded season, hoping to return to the Football League s soon as possible.
About ten years ago the club played with alternating fortunes in the Championship, also distinguishing themselves for the performances of some extremely prolific players (such as the bomber Gary Hooper, who in the following years also scored goals in the Champions League with the Celtic jersey), and the intention of the team and the coach, as well as the management, is precisely that of returning to those levels as soon as possible, thus bringing back some glory to Brownsword Way.
Sometimes, the intentions of a club can also be guessed from the signings, from the transfers of players completed in the summer market window, during which all clubs take the opportunity to strengthen and complete their squads for the coming season.
The eloquence of new signings
After the arrivals of Colin Daniel and Elliot Whitehouse, and especially the strong South African full-back Kgosi Ntlhe, the club also acquired 32-year-old defender Jacob Butterfield, a product of Manchester United’s youth sector.
After a long stay in England, between Norwich, Bolton, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday, Butterfield had moved to Australia, in the ranks of Melbourne Victory, before returning to the UK to the Scottish side St. Johnstone. Two such experiences, in the top tier of their respective domestic leagues, have made Butterfield an extremely valuable addition to Scunthorpe and to Mr Hill’s plans, who will undoubtedly use his experience to consolidate the defence and to achieve the club’s goals within a short space of time. Together with the South African Ntlhe, who will play as a left-back, he could undoubtedly form one of the best defences in the National League, but only if the defensive department is further strengthened with one or two new additions.
It is no coincidence that the club has decided to draw from the Scottish Premier League, which in recent years has provided players of the highest level (like Virgil Van Dijk, Kieran Tierney, Andrew Robertson). The Scottish Championship could also represent an interesting hunting ground for Scunthorpe, particularly for those roles in which it still appears too weak, or completely uncovered.
At the moment there is a lack of a right-back, but also of another central defender of a certain level who can back up the newly acquired Jacob Butterfield. Dundee FC’s Cammy Kerr or Inverness CT’s Wallace Duffy could certainly prove to be good signings in this respect. In midfield, too, some intervention would be needed, especially for the central midfielder role. If on the wings the team is sufficiently covered, with Liam Feene in the middle of the field one feels the lack of a player who can withstand the rhythms of a very tiring season. The club, in this sense, could think about Lewis Spence of Hamilton Academical or Englishman David Carson of Inverness. In attack, finally, they would need a second forward to flank the willing Joe Nuttall.
Valuable assets
Deciding to invest money in these roles, without wasting time with loans, could prove very useful especially in the long run, because the club will then be able to count on players of certain value that can eventually be resold. Compared to loans, which always carry with them a certain level of insecurity, player purchases made with cash represent solid investments that could turn out to be extremely worthwhile in the future, with the possibility of further increasing the value of the purchased asset (i.e. the player).
And in a team that wants to return to the higher categories as soon as possible, there are plenty of opportunities to showcase themselves and increase their value. It’s a bit like in gambling. When one doesn’t know whether to choose free play or real money: the former might serve mainly for beginners, but only temporarily, to practise the game and deepen one’s taste in it, but the real satisfaction only comes when one starts playing for real, with real money slots, choosing from an impressive assortment of extremely secure online slots that can satisfy even the most experienced players. In today’s football, buying players with cash means facing a season with extra security.
In Scunthorpe’s journey towards progressively rising through the upper leagues, betting on solid and secure assets, such as permanently purchased players, could be the first step towards success.